Patriotic People's Movement of Finland

The Patriotic People's Movement (IKL) was a Finnish fascist political party that was active from 1932 to 1944. The party was founded by Herman Gummerus, Vilho Annala, and Erkki Raikkonen, and it was ardently nationalist and anti-communist, endorsing an aggressive foreign policy against the Soviet Union and hostility towards the Swedish language. Many of its leaders were nationalist Lutheran priests, and its members wore black shirts with blue ties. The party received its main support from wealthy farmers, the educated middle-class, civil servants, the Lutheran clergy, and university students, and its support bases were in Kuortane, Lapua, and Ilmajoki. The party remained minor for much of its existence, and the Soviet Union saw to it that the Finnish government banned the IKL in 1944.